1. Field
The following description relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly to assigning or selecting physical cell identifiers.
2. Background
Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as, for example, voice, data, and so on. Typical wireless communication systems may be multiple-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, . . . ). Examples of such multiple-access systems may include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, and the like. Additionally, the systems can conform to specifications such as third generation partnership project (3GPP), 3GPP long term evolution (LTE), ultra mobile broadband (UMB), and/or multi-carrier wireless specifications such as evolution data optimized (EV-DO), one or more revisions thereof, etc.
Generally, wireless multiple-access communication systems may simultaneously support communication for multiple mobile devices. Each mobile device may communicate with one or more access points (e.g., base stations) via transmissions on forward and reverse links. The forward link (or downlink) refers to the communication link from access points to mobile devices, and the reverse link (or uplink) refers to the communication link from mobile devices to access points. Further, communications between mobile devices and access points may be established via single-input single-output (SISO) systems, multiple-input single-output (MISO) systems, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems, and so forth. In addition, mobile devices can communicate with other mobile devices (and/or access points with other access points) in peer-to-peer wireless network configurations.
Access points utilize physical cell identifiers (PCI) to identify coverage cells or sectors provided by the access points. Such identifiers can be used, for example, by mobile devices to establish connection and/or continue communicating with the access points. In one implementation, PCIs can be assigned by a centralized entity that receives location information from access points and assigns PCIs based on location. In another implementation, PCI assignment can be distributed such that access points can select their own PCIs based on information obtained from other access points. In either case, PCI collision can occur where two access points share a PCI, and a device can receive from both access points, or PCI confusion can occur where one access point neighbors two access points having the same PCI.